I am currently using my netbook as a desktop replacement - the power cable is in pretty much 24/7. Each night I unplug everything (power, external screen, sound, external keyboard/mouse, external hdd) and go mobile. So it feels like I'm battering the thing. Am I hurting it?

This question came from our site for system and network administrators.

Please read our FAQ before posting next time, this question is clearly more appropriate for our sister site superuser.com
–
Chopper3Feb 18 '11 at 20:19

@Steve314 that is seriously BAD advice. Lithium Ion batteries only have so many charge cycles in it before they die completely. I can see partial draining since leaving it full is also not good (when full the nano tubes are bulging with electrons). h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/…
–
KyleFeb 18 '11 at 20:50

I have an old thinkpad R40 from 2001 i once read out the HD smart chip and it had an uptime of nearly 700 Days (Before the HD failed). Now i have a new HD and the laptop still runs. You just have to now and then clean the fan from dust. I often have the laptop standing in my bed, which will cover most of the part where the air is sucked in. But the Laptop never failed me. But the Display is slowly getting a reddish taint. So you are using the laptop right i guess.
–
DaroktharFeb 18 '11 at 21:00

@Kyle - I've had Li Ion batteries die after only being charged once, but then being left fully charged for a few months unused. Still, I'm more curious about how every time I give the answer that was previously given to me and supported with evidence, it still turns out to be wrong.
–
Steve314Feb 18 '11 at 21:15

The time lost caring for the battery of the laptop is not offset by the potentially saved money from batteries. It's more efficient to actually use the device in the way that's most efficient for your work than to actually limit yourself to protect the battery life. That's even more true with lithium ion batteries which happen to fail slowly with time regardless of their usage, so utilizing them fully when they are still new is wiser.

Common knowledge about battery life is often wrong or incomplete, and can be mixed with knowledge from previously used types of batteries, so relying on any common knowledge about laptop batteries to protect them is not wise. You need to do your own research to ensure that the information you learnt is correct, which is too much of an effort.

However, the following might be useful:

LiON batteries last longer when they are cooler. If they are kept at hot environments or are too hot during use this can shorten their lifetime. Heat is the main factor in the battery life.

The general advice for storing LiON batteries for long periods of time is to keep them charged at 40% and at a low temperature.

Don't wait until the batteries are drained fully, don't hesitate to charge them as undercharging is inadvisable, and charging them when not fully drained doesn't hurt.